Could Homer Simpson have found the Higgs boson before any scientist? 685d66

Many refer to Simpsons as a "genius" series, but probably fans of the series don't say that in the scientific sense of the word. That's why thousands of fans were surprised by the revelation that Homer Simpson, TV's biggest donut eater, almost predicted the mass of the Higgs boson 14 years before any scientist. 415b1f

In the 2nd episode of the 10th season titled “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace” – which originally aired on American TV on September 20, 1998 – Homer formulates an equation on his garage blackboard that turns out to be an equation that almost predicts the mass of the Higgs' Boson, also known as the “God Particle”.

These and other scientific (mathematical) curiosities are part of some of the discoveries of the British writer simon singh in his latest book called “The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets" (The Simpsons and Their Math Secrets). The book, published in 2013, starts from the premise that “many of the writers of The Simpsons are deeply ionate about numbers, and covertly seek to feed the math into viewers' subconscious.".

The news gained momentum on the web this week after an interview with simon singh to the british daily The Independent, in which the author highlights the scientific feat of Homer Simpson. "If you work out the equation, you get a Higgs boson mass that is only slightly larger than the nano-mass that the Higgs boson actually has.”, he told the report. "It's kind of amazing how Homer made this prediction 14 years before it was discovered.”, added the writer.

The existence of Higgs' Boson was confirmed in simulations carried out in the particle accelerator – Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – and its discovery has great relevance in the scientific universe for proving the Standard Model Theory of fundamental particles, which describes the strong, weak, and electromagnetic fundamental forces.

Curiosity reinforces the idea that The Simpsons – the longest-running series on current TV – is entertainment with an educational soul. According to Singh: “It is the most mathematical TV show to air in prime time. Many viewers are also mathematicians“, explains the author, adding that the first episode of the animation also has a joke with calculation. "The series can help excite teens about math” completes Dr. Singh.

Although amusing, the news it's not exactly true and Homer Simpson did not find one of the greatest scientists of our century playing at a blackboard with donuts. despite the Higgs' Boson discovered in 2013, its existence through formulas was already known since 1964, when the theoretical physicist peter higgs – together with 5 other physicists – began to develop the calculations for the existence of this particle.

Later, the information was confirmed by one of the series' writers. In an interview with Daily Mail, screenwriter and mathematician, David X Cohen, explained the coincidence of the result of the equation of Higgs' Boson. He said that at the time, he asked a friend from high school, who is currently an astronomer at Columbia University, to help him with his calculations. In the video below, Singh himself explains the episode.

Regardless of predicting great discoveries, The Simpsons still in the air in your 26 season. With no obligation to be scientific, animation remains an interesting (and delicious for fans) entertainment that provides a X-ray of American society. Hidden math is one more good reason for you to follow along!

Sources: Daily Mail / Mashable / The Independent